Others on their latest books. Tonight Investigative Reporter alexder robins provides a behind the scenes look at the issues teachers are facing in the classroom today with her book. Shes interviewed. Watch after words tonight at 8 00 eastern on cspan. And now to a discussion on Public Service recruitment and career opportunities. Well hear from Energy Deputy secretary david turk and urban Development Deputy secretary adrianne todman. They spoke at an event hosted by the partnership for Public Service in washington, d. C. Good morning, everyone. On behalf of our president and c. E. O. , max, myself and all of us at the partnership, let me welcome you to todays event. My name is James Christian blockwood. Im the executive Vice President at the partnership for Public Service. First let me start just by saying thank you to all of the Public Servants that we have here in the room and the more than 500 we have joining us online. James tkpwrfrpblg as a former james as a former Civil Servant myself, i know what it means to serve firsthand. Im delighted each of you could join us for this culminating event of Public Service recognition week, 2023. This years event will feature an Exciting Panel Discussion on how federal agencies are bringing more young people into government and the experiences of emerging professionals in the federal work force. Jameschristian for more than two decades, inspiring the next generation to serve has been central to our mission here at the partnership. And in fact thats one of the main reasons that i joined the organization. As the challenges facing our country have grown larger and more complex, unfortunately public trust in our government, the only institution in my view which has the mandate, authority and resources to tackle those challenges, has frayed. Regaining this trust requires more from our government. But it will not be able to solve problems and meet the needs of the public without a strong civil service. And unfortunately our government has a growing talent deficit. Just 7 of federal employees are under the age of 30. Compared with 20 in the broader labor market. And this age group also saw declining scores in our 2022 best places to work in federal government rankings, which measure how Public Servants view their jobs and their workplaces. Still, we know from our work here at the partnership that government is full of rich and rewarding opportunities for young people. Now, this is the part of my remarks where i wanted to share some personal reflections as to why i joined government. And i was reminded by elements that make good remarks, which is to be brief, to be inspirational and to be funny. [laughter] and so i thought about what i could do and maybe i could borrow some material from my children. But they get most of their jokes from a book thats titled best kids jokes ever and theyre also 7, 5 and 3. So im not going to do that. [laughter] and then i thought in my own whitt that i would actually start by saying, of course you all know the number one reason i joined was pay. I would pause for dramatic effect. [laughter] wait for the room to laugh. And then i thought about it and i want to start with pay actually. And that is one of the reasons i joined federal service. Now, its not to become wealthy. And nor do i think any Public Servant should become wealthy off their service, but it is a point i wanted to make that you can have a respectable career and one can provide for themselves and, over time, for their family through federal service. The second point that drew me to Public Service were my parents. I was very fortunate. I have a father that served in the u. S. Military and he continues to serve as a Civil Servant in government right now. And i have a mother who taught me what it was like to take pride in serving others. And importantly, serving your community. So at a very early age i introduced to the concept of service and this drew me to wanting to join our government. The third reason was i didnt know what i wanted to do, but i knew i wanted to do something meaningful and i wanted to have an impact. And you can do that through federal service. For my first day at the department of tkaef to my last defense to my last day and every day in between, i truly believed i was able to have an impact on the people around me and the american public. I was also able to be able to see and experience the world like no one can except in federal service. So if thats not enough, i was going to add that i was able to meet one of the brightest, smartest, most talented, most Beautiful People that i know on this earth, my wife, because of federal service. And if my personal appeal wasnt enough, let me say, this week we honored some of our emerging leaders finalists. These are individuals in a category that are 35 and under and have made incredible contributions to our country. So there was a team that helped the way for release of american prisoners wrongfully detained in russia and ventilators. Theres an venezuela. Theres an individual who has helped save the u. S. Apple industry millions by showing farmers how to use natural predators against bugs that damage crops. And theres another individual who launched an Innovation Center thats been updating military equipment that hadnt been done since the 1980s and another individual who helped launch a Campaign Working with airlines and airports to identify and eventually prosecute those committing human trafficking. Stories like this only scratch the surface of what a career in government can offer. And at the partnership, we try to promote these opportunities in a number of ways. Through go government, a digital onestopshop for people interested in applying for and securing federal employment. Through our call to serve network, a community of about 700 colleges and universities working to recruit the next generation of Public Servants. And through our new federal advisor certificate program, which helps Higher Education professionals gain expertise in the federal hiring process. And many other ways, we try to do that at the partnership. So now to the more informative and important part of our discussion today, im delighted to be joined by two leaders who are at the forefront of bringing more young people into government. Adrianne todman, deputy secretary of the department of housing and urban development. David turk, deputy secretary at the department of energy. And they are joined by melissa sullivan, a Public Affairs officer at the Environmental Protection agency. And andrea jones, founder of the h. U. D. Synergy innovation will be a. Theyll lab. Finally, im grateful to introduce our moderator for this discussion, kathryn, opinion columnist at the washington post. And many thanks to her for guiding this todays conversation and for supporting our efforts to build and celebrate a robust Public Service. And while i can end my remarks here, let me just say one more time to the Public Servants in the room, thank you for your service and for those who are going to be inspired by our panel, let me just remind you there is no more noble, respectful and honorable career endeavor you can take than federal service. Thank you and over to you. [applause] thanks so much for that kind introduction. Im delighted to be here. This is an issue near and dear to my heart. I write a lot about the economy, but also the institutions that underpin u. S. Democracy and kind of the crisis of trust that has occurred in many of them and how do we rebuild that trust . And earn it . Right . Thats true for my industry, media, but its also true for the institutions of government. So im delighted to be with this esteemed panel to talk a little bit about how we rebuild a lot of these institutions through accumulating more of the most valuable resource there is, people. And in particular how we attract or how agencies can do more to attract younger talent into those pipelines. Catherine i was thinking we might start just by having each of you talk a little bit about your entry point into Public Service, how did you come to this job, were you in the private sector, you have always been in the Public Sector . And are there things that you know now about Public Service that you wish you had known then. Good morning, everyone. Again, thank you for moderating and thank you to the partnership for the invitation and pulling this together. So, prior to this job, i was the c. E. O. Of the National Association of housing and Development Officials which was a National Nonprofit organization built around helping housers and Community Developers just build stronger cities and counties and states. But prior to that, i had decades of Public Service opportunities. I first came to washington, d. C. , as a junior in high school. Adrianne and fell in love with the landscape here. I was in a Great Program called closeup, if some of you are familiar with that. Then had an opportunity to intern on the hill. My first entry point into government was a good oldfashioned internship up on capitol hill. And that led to my first tour at h. U. D. In the 1990s. And the thousanding authority and now im here the Housing Authority and now im here. So its been quite the journey. In terms of what would i do differently or something i would tell my quiet younger self, i always so for this moment, i decided to do something brave and look at my High School Year book. [laughter] because we think we remember ourselves when we were young until youre faced with the bold honest truth of things that you were when you were 18 and 19, 17. And so this is only for the brave and you should do this with much caution. But apparently i was going to be a lawyer. And but my one quote in my High School Year book was, anything is possible. So i decided that at that point i knew that things will happen and i will learn from it and take opportunities where they come. But i always knew, even then, that Public Service was something that i wanted to do. I enjoyed my journey. David so tough to top that. [laughter] that was really, really cool, adrianne. And just a phenomenal colleague. Adriannes part of a deputy group of all of us around the interagency and just a phenomenal leader and phenomenal thanks, its always great to do something. Thanks for doing this and thanks for the partnership as well for all the work you do day in and day out. So i grew up in a small town in the midwest. My parents are both teachers and educators and so it was very public spirit, public oriented household, as i suspect we get a lot of our values from our parents in particular and close family Members Around us. I had a chance to come to d. C. In college and as an intern and i think a lot of people get their kind of first opportunities, experiences working at the National Oceanic and atmospheric administration, noaa, and the department of commerce. I was always very interested in Climate Change and Environmental Issues more generally. And it was just an eye opener. Especially from a kid who grew up in a small town, we didnt have all sorts of fancy things at my high school or other kinds of programs like that. And the thing i was impressed with was the caliber of the people that i was working with. But truly the passion and the commitment. So i was working for a program called the National Marine sanctuaries program and it was folks who, incredibly interesting people, and incredibly passionate about making sure that were protecting in that instance our Marine Resources and assets in the communities that depended on that. And it was just really cool and interesting. And it goes to our opening speaker, thanks jameschristian, really, really helpful, one thing you said there was, weve got problems, weve got challenges in society, you write about this all the time, and the government, democracy, if you want to put it that way, that is our mechanism for stepping up and dealing with those challenges. And if its not going to be the u. S. Government and people in the u. S. Government, i dont think its going to get done. Not only on our national issues, but our international issues. Ive devoted much of my career on Climate Change. If beas a federal government we as a federal government, the people in the federal government dont lead, then its not going to get done. And the world will be a much, much worse place for it. So its just inspiring. Its just cool and we have to pay enough so that you can make a living and support your family, as the president talks about the dignity of the job. But its really that bigger fulfillment of doing something beyond yourself, working with other incredibly talented folks and thats been my experience. What i would tell my earlier self is, like, dont get so stressed out, dont get so worked up over things. Be open to opportunities. And i think in particular a job that may look really cool on paper, if youre working with assholes is not a job worth taking. [laughter] so the people you work with and really respecting the people you work with, i work for a phenomenal secretary, secretary grandholm, who is the same in private as you get in public. One of those people, the people i work with at the department of energy, incredibly passionate and teamoriented. And be really careful who you work for, work with and who works for you. Like that makes all difference in the world. Andrea hello, everyone. My name is andrea jones. I am the h. U. D. Synergy eninnovation founder to. Answer your question about the journey to Public Service, it started in new york. I was a city of new york employee for several years. And upon moving down here, i became a government contractor. And i worked for fema, for n. S. A. , a number of different agencies. But through that i figured out what the real the real opportunities in the government. And so thats when i turned to h. U. D. And applied and said, can i make something happen there . And then can i direct the contractors, because i was on the other side, direct them in a way so we can make things happen . So this allowed me to get the opportunity to do that. And what would i say to my younger self . I would say, you are enough. Sometimes we put so much pressure on ourselves about, you know, how we show up sometimes you are enough and you need to step into your fullness so you have yourselves to give to Public Service. And i will add to that passion when year showing youre showing up as yourself and keep your eyes open for different opportunities. It may be a lot of work, but those opportunity, once you take advantage of them, it goes with you for rest of your career and you build upon that for your future self, for the Amazing Things youre going to do. Melissa im a press officer for the e. P. A. And ive had that role for four years. I came into federal service from the campaign side. So im born and raised in miami, florida. Im first generation latina. I am a queer woman. And ive really found a home in the federal government, a place where i can be all of my different identities. Im also a Military Spouse and so ive really enjoyed my career in Public Service. So i came from the campaign side, as i mentioned and my first paid position was a very rare paid Senate Internship or one of the best Public Servant for one of the best Public Servants i know, senator jack reid reed. I moved throughout the government. I worked on the Veterans Affairs committee and i did two terms at themy Americorps Service which led me back to the e. P. A. I definitely echo my colleagues sentimentses about being sentimentses about being kind to yourself but most importantly realizing its ok to ask for help. My younger self, especially being first generation, i felt a lot of pressure to be successful and i had a very narrow definition of what that looked like. And i tried to take everything on my own shoulders and, good and bad it, builds character, but i also realized that things would have been a lot smoother and easier if i would have leaned on mentors and those who had come before me and learned from their wisdom and their mistakes rather than trying to take everything on on myself. Catherine i want to talk a little bit about what the obstacles are right now to recruiting younger talent. And to what extent they might be different from the obstacles around rekraougt midcareer or recruiting midcareer or more senior workers. So why dont we start again with you. Andrea one of the things im very proud of that were adrianne one of the things im very proud of that were doing at h. U. D. Is trying to get new talent and younger individuals interested in Public Service and particularly Public Service at our department. We re